THE BRONX, N.Y. - Haverford College men's soccer (0-4-2) tied Mount St. Vincent (3-0-2) 2-2 Saturday, as a late equalizer from Saylen Cardoni in the 86th minute deadlocked the two teams on a beautiful day at the Athletic Field at Marillac in the Bronx, N.Y.
Mount St. Vincent jumped out to a very early lead, as Juan Rivera clipped Sebastian Mesa inside the box, awarding the Dolphins a penalty kick. Mesa stepped up to the spot, and buried a goal past Simon Bank, to give the hosts a 1-0 lead just 15 seconds in.
Mount St. Vincent found their insurance goal in the 22nd minute, following a corner kick by the hosts. After a menacing cross was played into the box, the ball pinballed back out of the 18' only for Marti Senyer to fire a blistering shot past Bank, to extend the Dolphin lead to 2-0.
However the Fords were able to pull one back just six minutes later as Haverford was awarded a penalty kick of their own, after Aidan Lacy got tripped up in the box. Rivera had a chance to redeem himself, as the junior converted the penalty to the bottom right of Andrew Tarkazikis, trimming the UMSV lead down to 2-1 in the 28th minute.
The remainder of the first half saw chances from both teams, but neither the Fords nor Mount St. Vincent were able to find the back of the net, as the Dolphins held onto a 2-1 advantage headed into the halftime break. In a highly offensive first half, it was the hosts that held onto a 12-8 advantage in shots.
It was a rather quiet second half from both schools, as the only major chance in the first 30 minutes of the second stanza came from Andrew Fritz of the Fords, whose shot in the center of the goal was denied by Tarkazikis. Jackson Simon came in as a second half sub for the Scarlet and Black, and was called into action twice, making stops on shots in the 59th and 74th minutes.
The beginning of the final 10 minutes produced two more high quality chances, but shots on frame from John Dowd of Haverford and Amos Bignotti of UMSV were turned away by Tarkazikis and Simon, keeping the game at a narrow 2-1 scoreline.
However, the Scarlet and Black finally knotted the game at 2-2 off a chance from Thomas Vanni in the 86th minute. The sophomore midfielder ripped a shot from the top of the box that was parried away by Tarkazikis, Saylen Cardoni and Josh Brown came crashing in on the rebound as the ball proceeded to ricochet off Brown. Cardoni pounced on the ball and punched one home, to even the game at 2-2.
Two more shots stopped by Simon, and one menacing header that was rejected by Tarkazikis late in the contest, sealed the deal as the Fords and Dolphins ended the match in a 2-2 tie.
An offensive heavy game saw Mount St. Vincent outshoot the Fords 24-19, with the hosts steering 12 shots on goal as opposed to the Scarlet and Black's 10. Vanni led the way for Haverford with four shots, placing three on frame. In between the posts, Simon totaled six saves in 45 minutes of play.
Men's soccer will be back in action on Tuesday, September 17, as the Fords will challenge No. 8 Rowan in Glassboro, N.J. at 5 p.m.